Platform – it’s a word that most writers I know detest. It makes us think of unachievable numbers on social media that will keep us from writing itself. Guh! The Groups to Which We are Connected But at our writers’ retreat here a few weeks ago,...

Lorie Adair and I have something very important in common – we are both graduates of the AMAZING MFA program at Antioch University-Los Angeles. No wonder I liked her from the get go. Enjoy her thoughts on writing and promotion today. 1. Tell me about your...

This morning, my friend Vanessa sent me this article – “‘Platforms’ Are Overrated” – and I read it with great interest because, well, because I both love and hate my platform. And I agreed with many of the writer’s points...

Yesterday, I spent almost 12 hours outside. . . and today, aside from the poison ivy on my ankles and the mild sunburn, I feel amazing. Revived. Balanced. For a while last evening, I sat on the edge of Mom’s garden and planted impatiens in her favorite color...

an indispensable element of the writer’s job is learning to live with the silence of being ignored – and not just because the silence is independent of our talent, of a book’s merit, of the love and effort that went into creating it. No, we must...